The wide world of recycling

Thu, 06/13/2013 - 16:54 | dylan

The wide world of recycling

By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling

Zero waste to landfill for one U.K. retailer, a partnership with Coca-Cola for another and billions of dollars from electronics recycling in the Asia-Pacific region are highlighted in this week's wide world of recycling.

U.K.-based Sainsbury's this week announced that the retail giant has achieved it's zero waste to landfill goal, seven years ahead of its 2020 target date. The company says that it has reached its goal through a variety of partnerships with food donation charities, recycling firms and waste-to-energy facilities. According to the company, Sainsbury's is the largest retail user of anaerobic digestion equipment for managing organic scraps, generating enough energy to power 2,500 homes.

Another large U.K. retailer, Tesco, is partnering with Coca-Cola to boost recycling in the home. According to letsrecycle.com, Coke and Tesco have launched the "Together We’re Making Recycling Count," which rewards participants with coupons for Coke products in exchange pledging to recycle and answering some online questions about recycling.

Rising consumer electronics consumption in the Asia-Pacific region will drive the e-scrap recycling industry for years to come, according to analysis from Frost & Sullivan. The company says that the Asia-Pacific e-scrap recycling market in 2012 was worth $1.85 billion in 2012, a figure that Frost & Sullivan expects to reach $4.01 billion in 2017.